Captain
Kat Mclean was among 23 new Salvation Army Officers who have
been commissioned at Wembley Conference centre. This special
ceremony or ordination was the conclusion of two full years of
training at The Salvation Army's William Booth College -
training which will have equipped the students to serve their
communities, tell the Christian story and fight for social
justice as ministers of religion.
Captain Kat Mclean will share a joint appointment with her
husband Captain John who has served as an Officer for five
years. The couple have been appointed to minister at both
Lisburn and Belfast North Salvation Army Churches. They will be
responsible for the ministry, pastoral care and support of the
congregation at Belfast North and for establishing new community
focused programmes at Lisburn along with a creative family
friendly environment for Sunday worship.
Kat came to The Salvation Army at Hedge-end in 1996, where John
later became the minister in June 2001. While it wasn�t quite
love at first sight, the couple were engaged within 18 months.
Kat felt called to officership from the age of 14 and entered
training through the Army�s correspondence course in 2004. Just
2 months later John was appointed to Belfast and the couple
moved to Northern Ireland. During this time Kat has completed
approximately 80 assignments and 2 placements as well as
travelled to the training College in London for 10 residential
sessions. She has also assisted John in developing new
programmes in Lisburn Salvation Army and given birth to their
two daughters Honor (2 years old) and Charis (5 months).
�It has been a tough two years with many challenges and
opportunities� explained Kat. �The training has taught me so
much but most importantly it has shown me how amazing God is and
how He can use me to bring hope to the community in which I
serve. I�m looking forward to my future as an Officer and I
can�t wait to see what God has in store for me, my family and
for the people of Lisburn and North Belfast. �
Major David Jackson - Leader of The Salvation Army in Ireland
attended the commissioning and said �We are delighted that Kat
will has returned to Ireland to work with her husband at Lisburn
and Belfast North. She has much to contribute to the mission
of the Salvation Army, and will be an asset to our work within
the division.
